AutoGlo

Mark Glover's blog includes reviews of the latest motor vehicles introduced for sale in the United States, his take on various aspects of the auto industry and periodic insights on auto racing at home and abroad.

Thursday, February 15, 2018

Sacramento, California – If there’s
anything a recent week in the 2018 Buick Enclave Premium AWD taught me, it’s
this: General Motors is serious about swinging for the fences in its
sport-utility vehicles.

And if you
want a sizable SUV in this market, you need to bring your most cash-laden
wallet.The starting price on the tested
Enclave was a hefty $50,315.Extras
boosted the bottom line to $56,555.

I’m not saying
there’s anything wrong with that. I just think today’s frugal SUV shopper has a
lot to ponder.

The simple
truth in my week in the Enclave is that it felt like something produced by
Mercedes-Benz.Yes, that level of luxury
and quality.

The 3.6-liter
V-6 with 310-horsepower glided down the freeway with silky-smooth precision and
very little noise.Seven folks in the
interior cabin could gab away endlessly without straining their voices to be
heard.The nine-speed transmission functioned
flawlessly.

Fuel mileage
was a tepid 17 miles per gallon in the city and 25 mpg on the highway, which
was not a surprise to me.An SUV buyer
willing to pay $50,000 and up for a ride is likely more concerned about
performance, not fuel prices.

The Enclave
rides on the same frame as the recently reviewed Chevrolet Traverse.Like its Chevy sister, the Enclave held the
line with a comforting firmness.And the
Enclave’s exterior look is pleasingly sleek. The sharpened angle on the windshield adds to that look.

The tester's safety technology
kept me between the lines and was ever on the lookout for cross traffic and
reckless lane changers.

Interior space
was generous for passengers and cargo.

So many
standard goodies inside, including a heated steering wheel (with power
tilt/telescoping to boot), a kickin’ Bose audio system and tri-zone climate
control.A power, hands-free liftgate on
the back end also included the Buick logo projected onto the ground. Cool.

GM is taking
SUV art to the max, and for my money, if you’re going to purchase a top-end sport-ute that
you plan to keep for at least 10 years, this Enclave is an excellent choice.For me, the week in this luxury liner went by
far too quickly.

Sacramento, California – Here’s
something you rarely get to say to your local purveyor of Volkswagen passenger cars: I’ll take the six.

That’s as in
six cylinders in a V arrangement, standard on the recently tested 2018
Volkswagen Passat SEL Premium.

That gets you
a midsize sedan with 280 horsepower under the hood.

Is it worth
it?Oh, yeah.

The tested
Passat wore basic sedan skin but moved out like a shop-enhanced hot rod.My ride rolled down the freeway entrance
ramps with authority and tucked into tight spots with effortless ease.

Mashing the gas routinely powered me out of
harm’s way, whether that was on packed commuter interstates or city streets
clogged with unpredictable drivers.

That’s a
secure feeling that few high-tech devices can match, in my view.

With that
power being dished up by the 3.6-liter V-6, fuel mileage was so-so at 19 miles per gallon in the city and 28 mpg on
the highway.

For the
$35,500 starting price, this top-end Passat model was loaded with state-of-the-art
safety, comfort and convenience features, all thoughtfully positioned around the
driver’s cockpit. I noticed this after I took in the luxurious Vienna leather seating
surfaces.

Interior space
was surprisingly generous.Ditto on the
trunk space, which came in just a shaving kit short of 16 cubic feet.

All of that
makes the Passat not only a delightful daily driver, but a best bet for family
road trips, not something I expect from a midsize four-door model.

I realize that
Volkswagen has taken its lumps in recent years, especially in the aftermath of
the great emissions-cheat scandal that had earthquake impact in California.

But it’s not
hard to see why VW sales have continued at a strong pace even after that.The automaker continues to make
customer-pleasing vehicles across all segments, pricing them below what you
might expect to pay for competitive models offered by other manufacturers.

The tested
Passat stacked up as a primary example of this international formula.

Wednesday, February 7, 2018

Check out my review of the high-performance 2018 Lexus LC 500 in the latest, February 2018, edition of theNorthern & Central California Cruisin’ News, published out of Folsom,California, by John Sweeney and Evonne Sotelo.The “Hot Laps” reviews, along with my "Oil Drips" observations on anything with wheels, appear monthly in the publication.

To subscribe to the Cruisin’ News, visitwww.cruisinnews.com, call (916) 933-0949 or send an e-mail request to cruisinnews@mac.com. Mailed requests for information should be sent to Cruisin’ News,P.O. Box1096, Folsom, CA 95763-1096.

Thursday, February 1, 2018

Sacramento, California – Last week’s
review was about a sport-utility vehicle that surprised with all it had in
it.This week, I offer my take on the
2018 Lexus GX 460 Luxury, an SUV that you expect to have just about everything.

And it does.

It’s the
automotive equivalent of ordering the filet mignon and two bottles of Dom Pérignon at the priciest
restaurant in town. You expect the best.

Where to begin with this Lexus luxury
liner?How about the bottom line of
$75,072 on the tester? So, now that we know where we stand there, let’s move on
to the fuel mileage of 15 miles per gallon in the city and 18 mpg on the
highway.Yes, you’ll be paying a lot for
gas.

Now that we’ve established that money is
no object, let’s move on to the vehicle’s charms.

It’s loaded with so much luxury, so many
safety features and so many over-the-top comfort and convenience perks that you
feel like you’re driving the presidential suite of a five-star hotel.

On the roll, it’s a dream, with the
4.6-liter, 301-horsepower V-8 seemingly laboring in silence as it smoothly
propels the SUV down the road.Volunteer
passengers sat open-mouthed in the three-row configuration, with one rider
asking if the GX 460 was operating in hybrid mode, so quiet was the ride.

The big SUV was easy to handle, although
you have to mind your manners in tight city traffic.

It’s not hard to picture yourself gliding
into the valet drop-off area of a mega-luxury resort in this vehicle…and
feeling right at home among the Mercedes-Benz, Land Rover and Cadillac
equivalents parked there.

My tester had the “Sport Design Package”
that added a few visual, comfort and technology extras, but frankly, the GX 460
looks like a conservatively styled sport-ute upon first glance.Conservative in a million-dollar sort of way,
that is.

While the GX 460 is beyond my personal
household budget, I will confess to lapping up every ounce of luxury in my week with
the vehicle.If you have the funds to
make it yours over the long-term, color me green with envy.

Sacramento,
California – One of the drawbacks of reviewing scores of new motor vehicles
over a given time is that you can become jaded … Expectations are locked in,
and that sets you up for the occasional jolting surprise.

Reworked for
the 2018 model year, the current Traverse is a feature-stuffed player that, in
my view, reaches out to virtually every need an SUV buyer can name.

In short, the
Traverse I tested was an impressive work wagon-daily driver-road trip
dreamboat.

Styling is
pretty classic SUV, and fuel mileage is fairly typical for this segment – 18
miles per gallon in the city and 27 mpg on the highway.

Beyond that,
things get pretty serious.

Safety and
security features on the tested Premier – with a bottom line of $46,265 on the
sticker – were what I’d expect from a $60,000 vehicle. Cameras all around, rear park
assist, blind spot alert and surround vision were exceptional perks.

The interior
features were likewise plentiful, including top-drawerleather surfaces, heated/ventilated seats,
power tilt/telescoping steering column, multiple folding-seat configurations, a
Bose sound system and a heated, leather-wrapped steering wheel.

Best of all,
the 3.6-liter V-6 engine – matched to a nine-speed automatic transmission, by
the way – was an able performer in city traffic, on busy freeways and on twisty
country roads.Performance actually felt
stronger than the advertised 310 horsepower.

Freeway
cruises were smooth and quiet.Even with
three rows of seating, the Traverse was agile in slalom maneuvers.

The thought
ran through my head that this would be the perfect vehicle for a prolonged
road-trip vacation.You could carry
family and plenty of cargo, and frankly, I couldn’t imagine getting tired in
the cockpit as everything was that comfortable … plus lots of entertainment
options to keep everyone interested.

Sacramento, California – Calling a
motor vehicle a “subcompact” can give a false impression … that maybe the car
is so small that adults can’t fit into it.

The
new-for-2018 Toyota C-HR is a subcompact crossover sport-utility vehicle, and
I’m here to tell you that adults fit in it just fine. And beyond that, the C-HR
is a comfortable, nice-handling piece of work that is delightfully useful for
transporting humans or knocking off chores.

The recently
tested 2018 Toyota C-HR XLE Premium was the latest in a series of small
crossover SUVs I sampled last year, and while it’s a close call, I think it’s
my favorite.

For starters,
it’s nicely sculpted on the front end and in profile, offering up a pleasing
look that goes way beyond SUV-basic.

The 18-inch
alloy wheels look decidedly sharp.

Inside, the
interior cabin is surprisingly spacious and versatile.From the cockpit seat, controls are easy to
reach and understand.A generous list of
standard safety features on the tester was impressive, including a
lane-departure alert and radar-assisted cruise control.

Convenience
features were likewise plentiful for this segment, with automatic high beams and
a spot-on dual-zone climate-control system leading the way.

Fuel mileage
was very good at 27 miles per gallon in the city and 31 mpg on the highway.

I thought the
2-liter, four-cylinder power plant might struggle, but I was wrong.The 144-horsepower engine was more than
adequate across the range of driving conditions.It was pretty robust off the line as well.

Passengers
commented on how smooth the ride was on the freeways.

In essence, Toyota has given fans of
small SUVs another option below the automaker’s RAV4, and it’s an entirely
functional option, not a trade-down.Even with a few extras, the bottom line on the tester was a reasonable
$25,945.

The C-HR is an
easy-to-like daily driver and would be equally useful as a second,
chore-running vehicle in suburbia.For
those who want to send their kids off to college in something more than a
compact sedan or coupe, the C-HR is worth a look.

This
review first appeared in the December 2017 edition of theNorthern & Central
California Cruisin’ Newspublished
out of Folsom, California – mg

Sacramento,California– Some cars need only a single name to project
an image … Mustang and Camaro, for example.

Other cars need only a single letter: Z.

I had not been behind the wheel of a Nissan
roadster for too long a time, so I was grateful for the recent offer to put a
2017 Nissan 370Z Roadster through its paces.

Sliding into the driver’s seat, it was like
I had never left.The car radiated its
familiar personality, all flash and very fast on the draw.And very well equipped, I might add.

I first drove a Z up the California coast back in 1984, and I’ll
never forget the thrill of its acceleration or the throaty exhaust note it
presented when my right foot dropped down on the accelerator.I was pretty much hooked right away.

The current-generation Z droptop with a 3.7-liter
V-6 and 332 horsepower represents a serious evolution from that Z of years
ago.The tested Z moved with impressive
authority that far exceeded the Zs of my memory.

Even more impressive, it was monorail-solid
in high-speed maneuvers on a twisty Sierra Nevada
roadway.It felt glued to the driving line,
yet so comfortable that I felt like I could have one-handed it through the
corners.

With the top down, you draw lots of
stares, approving looks and thumbs-up signs.The 370Z Roadster’s classic, sleek lines are accentuated with the roof
safely tucked away.And yes, it feels
great cutting through the air on the open road.

By the way, the 370Z Roadster’s fully
automatic top slips out of sight in 20 seconds, a show that never gets old.

The four-wheel, vented disc brakes were
exceptional and gave me a feeling of confidence even as I was pressing the car
to challenge traction on a corner.

For the uninitiated, the Z’s finely tuned
sport suspension is perfect for slalom runs, but you do feel road imperfections
in your tailbone.

The tester’s interior included a nicely
arranged package of perks, including a strong audio system and cupholders that
actually do the job even when the 370Z is at full song.Sometimes, the simple things are the most
appreciated.

Fuel mileage was fair at 18 miles per gallon
in the city and 25 mpg on the highway.

Please note that you can move up to Z sportsters
with more muscle, but for me, the V-6 with 332 horses provided plenty of rush
for my taste.

One small gripe: My view out the back of the
vehicle was somewhat limited, but that’s a minor complaint in this segment.

The starting price for the basic roadster is
$41,820, and from there you can move up to the 370Z Roadster Touring Sport that
starts at $49,400.Please note that
Nissan has made some modest upgrades in the 370Z lineup for the 2018 model
year.

All in all, the tested 2017 Nissan 370Z
Roadster provided a fun ride and a trip down Memory Lane that was a sporty blast.The Z remains a classic and worth a look if you’re
pondering the acquisition of a sporty model strictly as a guilty pleasure.

Auto Enthusiasts

About

Mark Glover has been a professional journalist for 40 years. Since 1984, he has worked for The Sacramento Bee in California's capital city. He was the paper's auto editor from 2000-08, reviewing hundreds of motor vehicles during that time. His reviews currently appear at sacbee.com and in the Northern & Central California Cruisin' News published monthly out of Folsom, California. He is a former director on the board of the California Autombile Museum in Sacramento. A lifelong auto racing fan, Glover has attended the Indianapolis 500 since 1961. He has an extensive Indy 500 collection of programs, tickets and badges.